The beginning
by Loving yesterday
Summary: No.1 of the 100 themes challenge.


"Hi, my name's Katelyn. It's nice to meet you."

Steve Rogers smiled pleasantly at the small woman sitting in front of him. At five feet and six inches, Katelyn was probably the smallest person he'd ever come across. Her sapphire eyes twinkled like the sun dancing on the ocean and a small smile relayed a comforting warmth. She wore a crisp white collared shirt with a navy blue blazer and faded jeans.

Noticing his now awkward stare, Katelyn coughed softly. Steve sat a little straighter, blushing at being caught.

"Um," He stammered. "I'm Steve."

"I know. It says so on your name tag." Katelyn said politely, hiding a laugh behind her hand.

Steve blushed brighter than ever, trying in vain to cover the red with his hand. This was all Nick Fury's fault. It was him who had convinced the board of directors to push Steve into Stark industries, giving him the job of CEO despite his pleas.

"All you'll have to do is sign papers. Just let your secretary take care of the rest."

So here he was, a man seriously out of time, managing a company he knew nothing about, let alone how on earth it was successful given its chairman being the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist Tony Stark.

"Are you okay Mr Rogers?"

The question snapped him out of his thoughts, something that had happened far too often these days for his liking. Nodding, Steve shifted in his seat again, looking visibly unsure of what to say, much less do.

A growling pit grew in his stomach as Steve did all he could to avoid Katelyn's gaze. What on earth was he supposed to do? He didn't even know how to work a computer and the Iron Man suit seemed something out of a fantasy world. There was no way he could survive.

Out of the blue, a petite hand reached across the desk to hold his. Steve finally looked Katelyn in the eyes and saw an understanding look etched on her face.

"Don't worry too much Mr Rogers." She spoke softly, still smiling. "I'll take care of everything."

Steve laughed nervously.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Mr Stark told me you didn't know much about this company."

Steve smiled at the thought of the man with an artificial heart. So he wasn't just an iron suit after all, and his sense of humanity didn't disappear with his original heart.

"He also said you were a little slow, quite dumb and would probably run this company into the ground if you were the actual CEO." Katelyn stated factually, ticking the insults casually of her fingers.

Steve almost fell of the cushioned chair at all the insults. Perhaps he thought too highly of Tony Stark after all.

Katelyn laughed at his reaction, smiling brightly.

"Don't worry. I don't judge people until I actually meet them."

"That's good." Steve said, straightening himself up. The black suit he had worn was getting very uncomfortable. Maybe it was the physique….. Stark seemed to pull off wearing these very well.

"Ms Potts also said that Mr Stark is,"

Katelyn paused for a moment, as if debating whether or not to speak but decided it would be better if Steve heard exactly what Pepper had said.

"Ms Potts said that Mr Stark is a lying pig who only feels 15% of anything."

The captain smirked at the thought of the blondie who used to be friends with Phil Coulson and had taken to defending him from the abuse coming from Stark.

"Not a fan of Mr Stark?" She asked cheekily.

"No ma'am." Steve said, shaking his head.

Katelyn laughed at the title, not being able to remember the last time anyone addressed her as ma'am.

"It's just Katelyn. You're my boss after all."

Steve seemed shocked by her rejection of the formality.

"No!" He seemed entirely bewildered by even the thought. "You're far more experienced than me. It's better that this way."

Katelyn blushed at the comment but shrugged it off.

"Mr Stark put you as CEO for a reason. I'm sure you know heaps about electronics."

An uncomfortable silence stretched between them as Steve once again refused to meet her gaze, instead choosing to look at the floor as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.

"You don't know anything?" She asked curiously. Steve nodded shamefully, head bowed.

"I guess you could say I got this job through being Tony's friend." He mumbled.

Katelyn thought over that for a moment, wondering exactly who was pulling the strings behind this entire operation. Tony wasn't exactly the sort to give up business for any sort of friend. Did Tony Stark even have friends?

"Well…"

Katelyn let the sentence drop off, unsure of what to do with her clueless boss. Steve looked incredibly uncomfortable in the office environment, especially under the pressure on his shoulders.

"Well, I'll look after you." She said finally, standing up and bowing to Steve. The blond looked relieved, sagging noticeably in his chair.

"That's great." Steve said, smiling at Katelyn. "I thought I was doomed for sure."

"You're not out of deep water just yet Mr Rogers."

Steve waved a hand dismissively at her.

"It's just Steve. After all I should be the one calling you Ms…"

"Ms Montegue." She filled in.

The captain furrowed his brow at the last name.

As in Romeo Montegue?"

Katelyn blushed but nodded.

"It's awkward."

"It's pretty. And original."

The girl beamed at the compliment. Her smile showing slightly crooked teeth but it made the face prettier. It reminded him of the way she used to smile.

The single memory of her sent a wave of pain through his chest. Steve grimaced at the thought of the last time he heard her voice, the way she never gave up hope and the dance that would be on rain check forever.

"Are you okay Mr Rogers?"

The pain was still fresh in his mind but he managed a nod. Katelyn looked unconvinced but thankfully, she didn't pry any further. Instead, she walked over to the giant glass window that made up the majority of the back wall.

"I hope this is the beautiful beginning of a relationship Mr-"

"Steve." He insisted, watching as the ends of her mouth jerk upwards.

"Steve. I hope we can get along."

"I'm sure we'll do fine at least."

"I hope you know how to do your signature." Katelyn joked, turning away from the setting sun.

Steve laughed, genuinely this time. Maybe this world wasn't so bad after all. But then again, this was just the beginning.

* * *

**I'm not sure what I was thinking when I was writing this... Probably high or something. Anyway! Hope you enjoyed it. This breaks my HIATUS on writing because I am officially not sick/overworked/being hunted anymore! (Last option might not be entirely true)**

**Please review! I would love to hear about your thoughts and what I should do for the next challenge! And whether or not it should be Avenger related. I think the next theme is 'love.' **

**Mind you, killing people is a lot easier than loving them. (I UNDERSTAND YOU LOKI!)**


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